There may be a couple of
causes for this particular finding. Since the time frame for the NEP
item, “we are approaching the limit of the number of people the
earth can support”, was unspecified, responses to this question
could reflect optimism about the long-term rather than the nearterm
outlook. Indeed, evidence suggests that environmental issues
characteristically surface among individuals’ long-term concerns
rather than among their immediate concerns (Yeager et al.,
2011).